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Travelling to another country for 3 weeks... what am I forgetting?
Kyzen
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After making it half the year without taking any PTO somehow (it wasn't intentional, it just happened), I decided to tough it out another 5 months of no PTO, and then in December, go to New Zealand for 3 weeks.
So I'm wondering what I need to worry about when visiting another country. So far, my checklist:
Any suggestions/tips for a 23 year old traveller who hasn't been overseas at all in his adult life?
So I'm wondering what I need to worry about when visiting another country. So far, my checklist:
- Passport - I'm going in to get a passport next week once I get paid. I've been told that at this point I should shell out the extra money for an expedited passport to be sure I can get it before December 1st.
- Ticket - Duh. Depending on how big my bonus is I'll be buying this either this paycheck or next. I'm torn between a $1425 ticket for a carrier I have no mileage history with, or a $1670 ticket with United
- Backpack - I bought a rather huge backpack from REI for about 75% off that I'm hoping will suffice for the trip. Normally I can fit a weeks worth of clothes for, say, Vegas, in a small backpack, so the extra space here will be good for all the things I'll need in another country.
- Sleeping Bag - I currently plan on using hostels for lodging, as hotels would knock the trip way out-of0line with my budget
- Guidebook - Lonely Planet
Any suggestions/tips for a 23 year old traveller who hasn't been overseas at all in his adult life?
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notebook - for writing down important info you acquire along the way, also make sure you write down any info you may need before you leave, like the address and number of the us embassy, toll free numbers for calling cards for international use
peanut butter - you can pick up a loaf of bread anywhere. pb & j, not so much.
also, before you leave, make sure to contact your bank, let them know you will be travelling, so that they don't shut off access to your account thinking it was compromised
if I think of anything else, I'll let you know
Outlet converters. Don't expect your two-prong plugs to work with crazy foreign power jacks. I'm not sure off-hand what prong style NZ uses, but check into it.
Cash. Have a few bucks in dollars and euros in addition to the local currency, it'll come in handy if you need to barter with other hostel-dwellers.
A spare pair of very comfortable shoes, and twice as many socks as you actually need. When you get back from your trip, you'll PM me to thank me.
The right clothes. People are shocked -- SHOCKED, I say -- when they discover that it's fsking hot in December down there. Seems like an obvious thing, but I thought I'd mention it.
A dictionary of basic phrases in different languages. Again, this will probably make hostel life a lot easier.
Other stuff. I'm sure I forgot something obvious. <_<
Seriously tho.. if you haven't already hit up some sort of forum or w/e to ask about what to see while there I'd suggest it. Guidebooks tend to hit up a lot of the touristy spots, but may miss some real winning locations, especially if it hasn't been updated in awhile.
If you can, I'd also suggest the following things if you are able to swing them.
Some cash on hand that you can use if in a pinch, not all places accept credit, and you may want to convert some to local currency... I'm not sure how needed that would be there however.
Place some money in a separate account and have a debit card for that... Leave your main cards/cash at home if you can. That way you have access to a credit/debit account that only has a finite amount of cash and is easy to close down with very little impact to you if the worst happens, and can simply close it down when you get back to make sure no one eyeballed your card numbers or whatever while there.
And as for some general tips.. Anything in your wallet you can get away with not bringing don't bring. If you aren't going to be driving, don't bring your Drivers license, don't bring Credit cards you won't use, no checkbook, etc.
It's a royal pain in the ass to lose anything that has your name on it, even more so when it can net access to your money or things like that.
Pack enough cloths for the trip + extra in case you rip something or get it dirty. Try and keep anything you need or feel is very important to you on carry on.
That's about all I can remember... it's been roughly 16 years since my last vacation so I'm sort of running off my own memory and common sense... lol
Towels are a good idea. Be wary of bringing food in, NZ are very strict and will fine you $80 if you even take an apple into the country.
NZ, for the most part, will let you get pretty much anything you need if you forget. The exception is the NZ West Coast, it's pretty desolate of civilisation (from an English perspective), so if you are without something, it might be six hours drive to get to the next town. This won't be an issue if you're just using buses to get from place to place.
I'll respectfully disagree with you on the license point; having a secondary form of identification can come in handy when travelling, even domestically. I'd take a license as a backup ID in case a passport isn't sufficient, especially if you're planning on checking out local bars or clubs at any point in your travels. Remember that you're a foreigner (and if you're an American, well, you're also from an unpopular country). If anyone calls bullshit on your identity, age, or nationality, the burden of proof is on you. Carry some spare proof.
This is true, however there are other (less debilitating) options that may be open to him.
Military ID's, government identification, etc. It really comes down to what he has available and what he plans on doing.. hence the "can get away with" part.
Me, I don't drink much, and any traveling I can think of inside or outside of the country would never require a drivers license as proof unless I planned on driving.
Take that for what it's worth, but if he can't see needing it, and wouldn't really be concerned about anything he might possibly be unable to do to it's absence, I'd say it's better to have something like that at home if he can afford not to bring it.
Not disagreeing with you per se, just saying that it's up to his own personal plans and outlook. There used to be a time I could go almost anywhere with just my birth certificate and drivers license... nowadays it really won't do much for you as the passport is the requirement to go almost anywhere outside of the country now, and is a more widely accepted form of ID.
Really? what do they do for bedding then? I'll likely be taking mine along regardless as I intend to do at least one, if not two of the Great Walks.
Where in NZ are you going? Don't go to Westport. South Island is more interesting than North Island, and Wellington >>>>> Auckland.
Tis true.
(good to see Wellingtonians all up in this)
As for the bringing a drivers licence with you: you can't use it to buy alcohol (from a store) but depending on who is on the door that night chances are good you can get into bars and for this it is probably worth bringing it. You really don't want to be losing passports.
And for something to fill your schedule in: Stop off for a couple of days in Taupo on your way back up to Auckland and go trout fishing. Hiring a guide won't set you back much and NZ's trout are monsters compared to what you find around North America.
Oh and most of our ski fields have just opened up. Worth checking out, especially down south.
We use these, at 230V. You'll need a step down transformer to operate your electronic devices *APART* from the ones which explicitly say they accept 100-240V on the plug. Cellphone chargers typically work internationally.
There's almost nothing as nerve wracking as having to catch a train at 5 AM in the morning and hoping the hotel that's screwed up your wake up call two days in a row will get it right on the third day.
That's right, you forgot... take'em off.
Give me your pants.
Your pants, give me them.
-Robert E. Howard
Tower of the Elephant
Also, if you have any hay fever at home, you should considering taking some allergy medicine to NZ. I have friends that have visited there a few times mention that peoples' allergies can get much worse over there and some people who aren't normally allergic to pollen back home ARE allergic to stuff they suddenly breathe in in NZ.
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A flashlight/torch, preferably one with LEDs that can not brake when dropped.
A small multitool, much more useful than what you would think.
A small sewing kit for repairs.
A basic selection of medication and first-aid stuff, band-aids etc.
A notebook, it is always nice to write down your thoughts on the places you visit.
Comfortable shoes, especially if you plan on doing any hiking.
A set of somewhat more presentable clothes, nice of you go out.
Documentation, but people have already talked about that.
Enough clothes to last you week without washing, but not more.
One last thing, pack light. Go through the stuff you are bringing, then remove anything you can do without. Then go through your stuff again. You will end up carrying your back-pack alot, and the less stuff you have to carry around the better.
The South Island is generally more picturesque than the North, although not by much and with a few exceptions, and since the urban centres are pretty dull (including Wellington) you'd be better off spending the majority of your time in the south.
Edit: Don't pay too much attention to the Wellington vs. Auckland thing. The major difference is that Wellington is a lot less spread out, and hence better for a tourist.
I was in Sydney for a week and was only asked for my passport once the rest of the time my CA drivers license was fine. I don't know how different the laws in NZ are but AU is my only experience outside the country. On as side note I thought it was funny that someone get a fake 18 year old american drivers license.
That's the travelers old faithful.
I don't disagree, as Brit living in NZ. Maybe it's worth planning going to Sydney or Melbourne?
If he's going to be doing something like a walking tour, tramping around and stopping in little towns and things, he could probably spend a pretty enjoyable three weeks here, but I think a short stay in Sydney would be better use of his time.
I was quite underwhelmed by the North Island, particularly Auckland. Oh, except for the Bay of Islands and this cruise:
http://www.rocktheboat.co.nz/
That was great fun.
Don't worry about bringing lots of emergency stuff, as others have mentioned you can get whatever you need.
And I'm shocked that you NZers don't think there's 3 weeks of entertainment in NZ. I'm gonna go again next year, hopefully.
The only thing I'd add is check where you're flight changes are and make sure that you've got enough in each of the local currencies for a cup of coffee and something to eat. Also make sure you have enough NZ cash for a taxi, etc. for when you get there - Murphy's law dictates that the cash machines will all be broken when you really need cash for something.
Of course one option on the cash front is to get traveller's checks rather than relying on getting cash from machines. The boyf. did this when we went to Rome and it seemed to work out pretty well for him (though I used my card and also didn't have any problems - 6 of one, half a dozen of the other I suppose).
I'm hoping 3ish weeks (might be closer to 4 now thanks to some days off from work I wasn't aware I had) will be easy to fill with activities. If not, I do have a friend in Australlia that's been bugging me to visit for a long time.
Money-wise, what kind of fees should I be expecting if I were to use a Visa card over there?
Also, I found a small packet of safety pins to be exceptionally useful for the young travelling McGyver. They can temp patch small rips and tears, affix labels and information to things, pick out chunks of wood embedded into your flesh after a fall, clean your nails, lance your (small) blood blisters, pick old locks, serve as a burnt out fuse replacement for a stranded car, close off tensor bandages and injury wraps of all kinds, work as bulletin board pins and calender/planner hangers, and as actual pins for putting Canadian flags on your luggage or whathaveyou.
Very handy, I never leave home without one.
Umm, this is H&A so I am hesitant to say this, but you do know what a 'holiday' is, right?
Taxis are comparatively expensive in Auckland, by the way. Not sure about other parts of the country. It costs me about NZD$50 to get from Auckland Airport back to Auckland City (at current exchange rates that's about ~USD$35-40).
Worst comes to worst and you're low on cash but still need a taxi ride, ask the taxi driver if they have an EFTPOS terminal before you hop in - if so, you'll be able to use your credit card directly.